We recently had our 28' International at Jackson Center for warranty items:

1. Crooked rear tail light - removed, reinstalled, & resealed - OK
2. Sticking curb side bedroom window - extra aluminum removed on inner window - OK
3. Sink area pull down shade coming apart - re glued - OK
4. Sometimes leaking shower door - recaulked - OK
5. Midship storage door (between fridge and shower) frequently popping open during transit - applied velcro in 3 locations - this is kind of a cheeseball fix and it is NOT 100% effective
6. Rear skylight shade would not open 100% - fixed - but now the shade droops when partially open
7. 2 missing rivets and 1 missing screw head cover - installed all 3 - OK8. Step light non-functional after leaving dealer lot - connected ground wire to this light - OK9. Outside speaker grommet loose - tightened - OK
10. Microwave /Convection does not function properly , the most aggravating defect we found in our unit - Airstream verified the install was proper and then referred us to Sharp, the manufacturer - NOT one bit happy about having to take care of this ourselves. We expected the defective unit to be replaced and that Airstream would deal with Sharp. I would have argued with them about this, but I had the family waiting at home (95 miles away) for myself and the trailer for a weekend camping trip. We had to remove the unit and take it to a local center for evaluation and are still waiting to hear from them.

11. Our trailer's interior was noticeably dirtier at pickup then it was a drop off: aluminum shavings, dirt, and some greasy handprints.

Found that I have an intermittent exterior light at the dump valves. I selcom use it, but the worst part about that is the light might be accidentally left switched on and later come on and drain the batteries.

Big one is that my refrigerator totally died on the 3rd day of an 11-day trip. When I stopped at Memphis the second night out, the cold drinks didn't seem as cold as they should be, so I switched the box to the coldest setting. By the time we reached St Louis, the ice cubes had thawed (97-degrees outside). The boiler was the hottest I have ever noted, but the tubing I could reach was at ambient temperqature. i.e. absolutely no circulation in the system; the ammonia is probably spread across Arkansas and Missouri. We lost about $40 worth of food and had a problem keeping the insulin at a safe temperature. Trying to keep some things cool with ice was a mess with water everywhere; I finally bought some dry ice in Waco on the way home and that worked a lot better.

Otherwise, the trailer perfromed well and I found no other problems. On the positive side, the 13,500 btu AC along with a Fantastic Endless Breeze fan to circulate the air cooled the trailer down very nicely at 102-degrees when we stopped at Mount Pleasant, Texas. It wasn't terribly pleasant that day.

We recently had our 28' International at Jackson Center for warranty items:

10. Microwave /Convection does not function properly , the most aggravating defect we found in our unit - Airstream verified the install was proper and then referred us to Sharp, the manufacturer - NOT one bit happy about having to take care of this ourselves. We expected the defective unit to be replaced and that Airstream would deal with Sharp. I would have argued with them about this, but I had the family waiting at home (95 miles away) for myself and the trailer for a weekend camping trip. We had to remove the unit and take it to a local center for evaluation and are still waiting to hear from them.

Similar experience to a point with a problem microwave door latch on my SOB. Dealer had to remove microwave and send to a service center to fix. Trailer was at the dealership for two weeks. It broke again, this time dealer advised me I would do better to remove it myself and take it to a local microwave service center. Would save me 100+ mile round trip to the dealer and would get fixed a lot faster.

In your case I can see why A/S didn't want to fix the microwave, since that probably would have tied up your trailer for a longer period, but on the other hand I have seen them replace A/C units rather than attempt to diagnose and fix problems and you would think they would replace the unit. It would be interesting to redirect the question to them and ask why.

In my case on my SOB it was a very easy situation to unscrew a few screws and get access to the microwave for removal.....and it save 100+ miles of driving and fuel.

Let me know how your fridge story ends. I had my fully replaced by Marshall's Traveland a few weeks ago. They had to order one from Dometic.

You think it's the cooling unit, not just the circuit board?

Kevin

No doubt that it is the cooling unit. Boiler stack is abnormally HOT!!!, all tubing that I can reach a hand to is at ambient temperature. That can only be a lost ammonia charge or a clogged up system. Circuit board switches properly between AC and propane and can not cause that.

I used a 125-degree thermostat on the lower tubing of my former trailer to control the stack fan, so I know that the lower tubing should be too not to lay a hand on when the fridge is running.

In your case I can see why A/S didn't want to fix the microwave, since that probably would have tied up your trailer for a longer period, but on the other hand I have seen them replace A/C units rather than attempt to diagnose and fix problems and you would think they would replace the unit. It would be interesting to redirect the question to them and ask why.

Jack

They had our trailer for two weeks. I dropped it off on a Friday and picked it up two weeks later. They worked on it the Monday following the drop-off, see they had time, and I will redirect the question to them, as I just received the postcard from them as a follow-up to the service.

__________________Hi Yo Silver, Away II?looking for our next AS
TAC IN-3
AIR 7185

I met a couple last week who had purchased an 05 Bambi a few days earlier in Vero Beach, FL. Shortly after leaving the dealer the street side wheel came off damaging the wheel well and exterior skin. Another 05 Safari owners hot water heater stopped working. He was on his way to the factory for other warranty work to be performed. I met a guy last year who was taking a shower in his new AS motor home. The bottom of the shower busted through. He had just returned from the factory to have a roof leak fixed. So much for quality on what should be the best built trailer in America.

I met a couple last week who had purchased an 05 Bambi a few days earlier in Vero Beach, FL. Shortly after leaving the dealer the street side wheel came off damaging the wheel well and exterior skin. Another 05 Safari owners hot water heater stopped working. He was on his way to the factory for other warranty work to be performed. I met a guy last year who was taking a shower in his new AS motor home. The bottom of the shower busted through. He had just returned from the factory to have a roof leak fixed. So much for quality on what should be the best built trailer in America.

Ben

Two of the incidents don't really reflect on Airstream.

The trailer would have been towed to the dealer. Obviously neither the tow driiver nor the dealer checked the lugs for tightness as is required by Airstream during the initial towing mileage. A wheel must be mighty loose to come off during the initial tow.

The water heater is a 3rd-party item and might fail equally in any make. I don't blame my current Dometic refrigerator failure on Airstream.

Now, the roof leak and the shower floor failure I would blame on Airstream although the shower was probably laid up out of house. However, since items such as soap dishes are dealer installed, I would have expected some dealer person to have been stepping on the shower floor before delivery.

Ditto - looked pretty sharp leaving the dealership. Two weeks later we began a 3000 mile trip around the country, and I never encountered a gas station that good accomodate the stems to add air. The valve is too far to the center of the wheel, and the hub cover blocks access. But they look good.

Tried to get valve extensions from Kragan, but either they don't stock or the guy just didn't understand what I wanted.

Finally got right-angle valve extenders from an RV store (CW also has them), so now I can check/add air. Wheww!

Other than that, things performed quite well. Pulled off at a viewpoint in Utah and encountered two other AS's caravaning, one a new Classic. Unfortunately he was on his third tire change (axle out of alignment, he thinks), and a window had blown out on the driver's side. As I was looking at his AS I noticed a missing rivet on another body part. His spirits were great, I'd have been depressed and pissed.

I think I ran into the same caravan, reason the guy wasn't pissed is he's just hauling it out to the coast to a dealership. good luck to the happy new owner of that Classic. I saw it with the blown out window and tires piled in the tv.....